by nolahistoryguy | Jan 28, 2021 | Early 20th Century, Politics, Uptown
The Anti-Ewing Ticket 1908 opposed candidates aligned with Robert Ewing.
Anti-Ewing Ticket 1908
Campaign flyer supporting the “Anti-Ewing Ticket” in Louisiana state elections, January 28, 1908. Others on the ticket included Theodore S. Wilkinson (governor), Gustave Weser (10th Ward Democratic State Central Committee), and Robert J. Jaloney, for state senator.
Robert Wilson Ewing
Ewing owned the New Orleans Daily States newspaper.Ewing allied himself with the city’s Regular Democratic Organization (RDO). Ewing was a notable figure in the RDO,
Louisiana was essentially a one-party state since Reconstruction. So, campaigns focused on the Democratic primary. The candidate emerging from the primary almost certainly would defeat the Republican. Additionally, RDO candidates benefited from favorable coverage in Ewing’s newspaper, the New Orleans Daily States. The paper later changed its name to the New Orleans States. The States merged with the New Orleans Item. This merger reduced the number of afternoon newspapers in the city to one. The States-Item later merged with the Times-Picayune, the morning paper.
Ewing also managed the 1908 candidacy of William Jennings Bryant for President of the United States.
Opposition to the RDO
While the RDO wielded great influence. Other Democrats ran against that influence. Since the RDO was strong, opposition candidates focused not on the organization, but on the power behind it. The anti-RDO factions regularly accused the organization of corruption and malfeasance.
It was not uncommon for a candidate to seek both political and party positions. Thomas Harrison, ran for “Single State Tax Collector” for Orleans Parish. Additionally, he sought a seat on the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee.
The 10th Ward
While the city’s Ninth Ward extends downriver from Faubourgs Marigny and Treme, the 10th Ward was Uptown:
The roughly wedge-shaped Ward stretches back from the Mississippi River. The lower boundary is Felicity Street, across which is the 1st Ward, then Martin Luther King Boulevard (formerly Melpomene Street), across which is the 2nd Ward. The upper boundary is First Street, across which lies the 11th Ward.
(source: Wikipedia)
This flyer is archived at Tulane.
by nolahistoryguy | Jan 23, 2021 | 1920s-1930s, CBD, Politics
1938: Judy Garland Mayor Maestri pose for a photo.
Judy Garland Mayor Maestri
Actress Judy Garland, during a visit to New Orleans in January, 1938, paid a call on Mayor Robert Maestri, at his City Hall office. She sold him a publicity photo. The proceeds from the sale went to the President’s Fund for Infantile Paralysis.
Before “The Wizard of Oz”
This publicity trip happened before Judy Garland filmed “The Wizard of Oz.” While MGM acquired the rights to the L. Frank Baum story at this time, January, 1938, filming did not begin until that October. So, Garland traveled on this fund raising tour as an actress under contract to the studio.
Robert Maestri
Robert S. Maestri served as the 53rd Mayor of New Orleans, from August 18, 1936 to April 4, 1946. He came to the job through the overarching Long/Anti-Long feuding. Huey P. Long polarized politics in Louisiana in the 1920s and 1930s. Maestri’s predecessor as Mayor, T. Semmes Walmsley, served as a staunch enemy of Long. When Long died, Walmsley agreed to drop the feud. He resigned, and Maestri won a special election for the office. Maestri served as mayor through World War II. Maestri permitted a great deal of corruption and illegal activity in the city. The Regular Democratic Organization waited until after the war to push him out. They nominated deLesseps Story “Chep” Morrison in January 1946. Maestri was, in no uncertain terms, a Yat.
March of Dimes
Judy Garland bussed Maestri’s cheek while raising money for one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s projects. FDR founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. So, movies dominated the entertainment industry at the time. Competition between studios was fierce. While promotion of individual films was important, studios fought for market share. Studios dispatched actresses like Garland, making charity appearances. The common donation to the foundation was ten cents. Since so many dimes came into the foundation, the organization re-branded at the “March of Dimes.”
by nolahistoryguy | Jan 18, 2021 | 1980s, NOCCA, Politics, Uptown
Governor Elect Buddy Roemer at NOCCA, for an event in 1988.
Governor Elect Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer made an appearance and spoke at an event at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, on January 18, 1988. At the time, Romer held the Fourth District seat (Shreveport/NW Louisiana), from 1981 to March of 1988. In the Fall of 1987, he chose to challenge Edwin W. Edwards for governor. He won, and became the state’s fifty-second governor, on March 14, 1988.
Roemer as Congressman
While Roemer later switched parties later in his career, he was a Democrat in 1987. In the House of Representatives, Roemer was a “boll weevil.” He embraced much of the agenda of President Ronald Reagan. Additionally, he was openly hostile towards Speaker Tip O’Neil. So, the Democratic caucus denied Roemer choice committee assignments. Congress became a dead end for the ambitious Roemer.
The 1987 governor’s race
Edwin Edwards wound down his third term in the fall of 1987. He declared his intention to run for a fourth term. This was unprecedented in Louisiana. Prior to the re-write of the state constitution, the governor could not succeed himself. Through all of the “Long/Anti-Long” years, the factions traded the governor’s mansion back and fourth every four years. Edwards occupied the office from 1972 to 1980. The new constitution prohibited him from seeking three in a row. So, he sat out the 1979 race, but came back in 1983. By 1987, a number of politicians lined up to take on Edwards, including three Congressmen: Bob Livingston, Billy Tauzin, and Roemer. Roemer emerged from the pack, Edwards realized there was no way he could win the runoff. So, Edwards conceded on election night, leaving Roemer unopposed.
Roemer toured the state as governor-elect in the winter of 1988. One of those stops was at NOCCA, that January.
NOCCA
The New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts offered training in a number of arts:
- Culinary arts
- Creative writing
- Dance
- Media arts
- Music
- Theatre arts
- Visual arts
NOCCA initially operated as an adjunct to a student’s chosen high school. While students completed their basic requirements for high school at their regular school, they divided their time with NOCCA for arts classes. Eventually NOCCA became a fully-accredited high school. The school’s first campus was in Uptown New Orleans. This is where Roemer spoke. In 2000, the school moved to Faubourg Marigny.
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